• For a flick that’s not coming out until the end of this summer, USA Today gives “Clerks 2” some wonderful press today, with one one but TWO great stories in their Movies section today. Summaries, highlights, and links to the complete articles dead ahead. We will say, some minor plot-point spoilers do show up in these articles. Nothing that will ruin jokes, but certainly a bit of background information that we haven’t seen made public before. Read at your own risk, but don’t worry too much about it. These also appeared in actual PRINT today in the paper, not just on the website:

‘Clerks II’: Growth and gross-outs

“”I wanted to see what happened to the characters when they lost their center point,” Smith says, sitting on the creaky merry-go-round outside the restaurant building they’ve co-opted for the shoot. “It opened up a world for Dante. He met somebody, fell in love and got engaged, then he met somebody else (the restaurant manager, played by Rosario Dawson). He reacted well to the outside world, while Randal just got more closed up and scared and angrier.

“The whole flick comes down to whether or not the two of them can reach a compromise of some sort,” Smith adds. “It really comes down to the choice a friend makes for another friend.”
Sequel or sellout? Smith feels heat

“”I never want to taint the original,” Smith says. “But that’s not a reason not to tell this story, just because you’re afraid of the potential reaction.”

The sequel, he promises, is not a “money grab” after the poor response to his Jersey Girl. He says it’s a chance to catch up with some characters who used to be like him, and further explore their non-lives.

Among those who are nervous about it were the two stars, Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson — two local Jersey guys plucked from obscurity by Clerks who are hoping not to fade back to obscurity this time. “You’re touching a film that is beloved by a rabid following. I was excited about the sequel, but at the same time I was like, ‘I hope we can do it right,’ ” O’Halloran says.

Offbeat original shattered barriers

“Smith says Clerks “said something about a certain time in American culture, when there were a lot of kids coming out of college and not getting jobs, overeducated and underemployed, with a sense of entitlement.” Now finishing Clerks II, he says, “these are those same kids, 10 years later. Not all of them found their place in the world.”

Congraulations to Kevin and the Clerks 2 team on some excellent press for the film today — Let’s hope they have some ink left for us in August, as well. If that “unrated” plan goes through, something tells us that they will…

• A new horror flick with Mewes is on the way, according to Empire Online:

First we’ve heard of this one, so we’ll keep watch on it for ya!

• We mentioned this a while back, but since it’s airing February 10th, just a reminder – The brilliant Arrested Development airs its premature season (probably series) finale on that date, and steals a device invented by Clerks: The Cartoon many years back. In the episode, George Sr.’s new attorney gets the Bluths to take part in a mock trial to prepare for the real thing. Judge Reinhold, launching a new courtroom show, presides over the faux proceedings. Buster, meanwhile, fakes a coma to avoid testifying.

• After a software bug disaster claimed a lot of our archive data here at News Askew when the New Year kicked in, we have been able to restore most of it through the magic of backups and programming — We’ve got all but the last few days of 2005’s news restored (sadly, the year-end wrapup we worked on for quite a while has gone into the nether). We’ll be manually re-entering news from May 2005 through the end of that year shortly, as well. So, feel free to use the Archive search again, as results should now be MUCH better than you’ve been seeing. As always, if you notice any odd behavior with the website before we do, please drop us a line so we can get it fixed up for ya. And now, the pre-Superbowl news…

• In less than two weeks, Kevin will appear for another of his famous Q&A sessions — This time, for the FIRST time, in St. Cloud, Minnesota! The St. Cloud State University Program Board has made this a wonderful value, too — Staff and students can come see the show ABSOLUTELY FREE, and non-students can come for the BARGAIN PRICE OF FIVE BUCKS! That’s right, you heard us — Five dollars! At this price, we’ve expecting the event to fill up FAST, so we do highly recommend you pick up your tickets as soon as possible. At this rate, it’s well worth the gas to drive you and a carload of pals in, as well.

And talk about easy ordering — You can order these amazingly cheap tickets directly at SCSUTickets.com.

For more information on the event itself, visit the University’s website. The event kicks off Friday, February 17th, 7:00 PM, at Halenbeck Hall. An entertaining way to spend a cold February Friday, for sure. Much cheaper than going to the movies, even. No reason not to be there.

• Kevin ran a MARATHON Q&A session Thursday night in Indianapolis that lasted in the early hours of Friday morning, around 2:45 AM to be exact. Fans lined up with endless questions spanning the six and a half hour event, which featured some classic stories and some yet untold tales, which you’ll just have to go and see Kevin LIVE to hear about yourself. His words on the event:

A few pics above from various sources, as well. Enjoy. As always, we urge you, don’t miss Kevin when he comes to your town. The hours he puts in are among the best value out there for your entertainment dollar.

• A clip from “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” was shown during a 20/20 report on Friday night. The episode was about manners in America today. During one spot about a child who grew up swearing constantly, they used the scene where Ever Carradine as Jay’s mom swears at young Jay and Bob outside the Quik Stop. A fun little shout-out on a very major network program!
• The IMDB’s “Truly Trivial” ran a question we wonder if you know the answer to yesterday:

Click here if you don’t know!

• We all know that the voice of Jason Mewes is featured in “My Big Fat Independent Movie”. However, there’s more goodies on the DVD — First up, an easter egg featuring video of Mewes doing the voice work. To access it, go to the EXTRAS menu then move right until you’ve highlighted one of Sam’s guns.

Also, in the audio commentary, writer Chris Gore talks about the fact that even though they had a script, Mewes was better when he could just deliver lines off the top of his head. He also said his one regret was that, other than Mewes, the movie does not make reference to a Kevin Smith film.

• An article at news website “The Slate” on Jason Lee has a full paragraph on Kevin’s involvement in his career:

Read the full article over at Slate. It’s a short, but niece piece on Lee history.

• IGN alludes to Kevin’s famous cash-raising efforts to make Clerks in their article titled “Make Your Own Movie…Cheap”. They title option number five the “Kevin Smith Plan”, putting all your purchases towards your film on credit cards.
• And finally today, here’s another possible Red Bank attraction in the works that you might be able to try at Vulgarthon: A charter boat. On February 13th, the Red Bank Mayor and council will vote on the approval of a boat titled “MV Patriot” to dock at the Marine Park and offer water-based tours of the area. Currently there is no way for families and small groups to enjoy the river, see the sights, the wildlife, foliage and view the magnificent sunsets as seen from the water. Supporters are urged to show their support by attending the meeting of the 13th and contacting their local representatives and letting them know of their support for the project.
• That does it for us…Enjoy the big game today!

• Kevin’s put a preliminary date out there for the next Vulgathon – East Coast style, baby! That date is May 31st. We love east coast events because we can drive there…Plus, there’s just something about that charm of being in the Motherland, the heart of it really – Red Bank, New Jersey. With the original Stash, Jack’s, and other landmarks such as Quick Stop just moments away. And then there’s all those kickin’ hotel room parties. We’re stoked. While the date’s not yet solid, it certainly seems like this event WILL happen, and feature the amazing extended Jersey Girl cut, some encores of rarely seen flicks, and perhaps a big surprise or two.

Keep it here at News Askew for all the latest developments on this exciting news. And for now — Save that May 31st date. You just might need it.

• Kevin took some time to answer comments over at this Sundance Q&A article posted at the Entertainment Weekly website. Not too much new for those of you who regularly read here and “The Board”, but if you’d like to follow along, check it out. The Q&A is about Sundance, but the talkback area covers mostly Clerks 2.
• The great Brian O’Halloran will be hosting the Program Board @ Miami University (Ohio)’s Student Film Festival Red Brick Showcase” and doing Q&A on February 22nd! For more details, visit their website. Bri’s a blast to see in person, and one of the nicest guys in the biz we’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Be sure and make the event if you’re in the area.

• Here’s a fresh photo of Kevin on the snowy grounds of the Sundance Film Festival a couple weeks back. Check out the “winter” footwear! Thanks to Cinematical.

• One of the most magical moments in being a fan is seeing Kevin do the live Q&A thing. Since way back when he was screening Chasing Amy and starting on the college circuit, there’s always been some magical way Kevin can take control of a room and captivate an audience. When you have a chance to see Kevin in person, don’t miss it.

“Stunt Bump”

• Watch Jason Mewes discuss the mythical “stunt bump” with a couple unsuspecting crew members (the illustrious Scott Mosier included) in the latest in our ongoing “Train Wreck” series over at Clerks2.com. Zak and Joey yet again throw in some hilarious edits and sound cues that are nothing short of hilarious. Mewes is yet again in top form as well. Continually some of the best free entertainment out there on the web. The footage shot seems to be never-ending at this point, we’re told, so expect lots more to come. Thanks, guys.